Chupito

While going over the Vancouver Michelin Guide, I noticed there were a few restaurants that I have not visited yet.  One of which was Chupito, which admittedly, I had no idea existed and really where to find it.  It is actually located behind La Taqueria on Hastings in Downtown.  When I behind, I mean like outside facing the lane.  Yep, it is the strange location, interesting restaurant phenomenon again.  However, with all of the great reviews, I was going in with high expectations.

By looking at the picture of the outside, you realize that the whole thing is outside, so there is a Spanish/European vibe to it.  We were started off with complimentary Margarita Shots which were fruity and whet our appetites.  We got a few cocktails including the Coyoacan and Zipolite.  I particularly enjoyed the zipolite due to the fruitiness from the pineapple, lime and ginger.  There was a balanced amount of aged rum just to give it a something something.  With cynar, amaontillado, peach, palo santo and topo cinco, the coyoacan was strong enough without going overboard. Light peach notes kept it balanced.

Onto to the food, we started off strong with the Tostada de Atun with ahi tuna, ginger mayo, cucumber, green onion, soy sauce and fried katsoubuchi on a fried corn tostada.  Wow, this was so appealing on many different fronts.  First of all, the tostada remained crunchy despite all of the wet ingredients.  Secondly, it had a beautiful nutty corn flavour.  Furthermore, the tuna on top was supremely fresh and buttery.  Oh the flavours, they were so complimentary with the ginger coming through as well as the brightness of the green onion and the brininess of the katsoubuchi.

We had the Ceviche de Coco next featuring halibut, mango, cucumber, serrano, red onion, cherry tomato, basil oil and coconut with a side of tostadas.  I loved this dish as it was tropical and aromatic.  The creaminess of the coconut paired well with the tender halibut and also helped soothe the heat from the serranos and the acidity.  The drop of basil oil provided a layer of herbaceousness.  Of course the crunchy tostadas were a nice vessel for the ceviche.

Personally, I love corn on the cob.  I am especially enamored with Elote Asado aka Mexican Street Corn.  The well-charred corn was completely coated with sweet mayo, chili & lime and queso fresco.  Oh this was such a sinful indulgence but it was all worth it.  Each niblet burst with sweetness and was immediately flavoured with the butteriness of the mayo as well as the chili lime.  The plethora of cheese added even more creaminess.

Majestically-plated, the Torre de Mariscos sported layers of Hokkaido scallops, Blue Pacific shrimp, ahi tuna, cucumber, red onion and avocado topped with green onion, cilantro and fried katsuobushi.  For this version it sat in aguachile verde.  The freshness of the ingredients were the stars of the show here.  Scallops were sweet and buttery while the shrimp were properly prepared and had a snap.  Loved the aguachile verde as it was bright and didn't stand in way of the other ingredients.

Onto some bigger items, we had the Grilled Tomahawk Pork Chop with rosemary and yam.  We also had some warm tortillas served on the side (with diced onion and pickled cabbage).  The pork chop was beautifully seared on the outside with a flavourful crust.  The meat itself was moist and tender with the brine penetrating into the middle.  Sweet and charred, the yam was tender and delicious.

The pork chop was good, but the Pollo Asado was even better in my opinion.  The sous-vide half chicken was also grilled up nicely where the skin was charred and rendered.  Beneath that, the meat was super juicy and buttery tender.   That went for both the dark meat and the white meat.  Again, the brine penetrated the meat and there was no absence of flavour.  The accompanying broccolini was vibrant and crunchy.

For dessert, we had the Flan with caramel, crema de mango and basil.  We ended just as strong as the meal began.  Creamy with a slightly firmer viscosity, the flan was rich and only purposefully sweet.  It was aromatic and smoky from the caramel while the crema on top added some lightness.  The basil was somewhat of a welcomed surprise.  In general, the entire meal was a surprise.  Not that I wasn't expecting it to be good though.  I just didn't think it would blow me away.  It certainly did and I do believe this should deserve a Michelin-Star, not just Bib Gourmand status.

*This meal was complimentary for this post

The Good:

- Fresh ingredients

- Well thought-out and prepared

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- Outdoor restaurant, so everything depends on the weather

Shizenya (Broadway)

Often, when we eat out, the food is greasier, saltier and sweeter than what we should be consuming.  However, the main point of most restaurants is to provide something tasty that you may not necessarily be able to cook at home.  Now that would be fine and dandy if you ate out only intermittently.  I don't eat out as much as I used to for a variety of reasons, yet I do still eat out a decent amount.  So sometimes it is nice to have a relatively clean and healthy meal.  That is why we chose Shizenya for lunch one day.  They are known for their brown rice sushi and bowls, that is better for you than white rice.  Also, they do their best to make most of their other dishes in a healthier manner.

This exemplified even with their starter Salad (included with the lunch sets) where the dressing was not as sweet as other spots.  Ingredients were fresh and vibrant.  Off to some Tuna and Salmon Nigiri, it was set atop brown rice (as mentioned earlier).  Naturally, brown rice has a firmer texture than regular sushi rice.  It is less sticky and also has a nuttier flavour.  We didn't mind it as it was well prepared with fresh fish on top (as fresh as flash frozen can get).

On the topic of that fish, we got the TST Sashimi featuring albacore tuna, sockeye salmon, and tuna toro.  As you can see, there was a nice sheen on the slices of fish which meant it smelled fresh and like the pieces in the nigiri, they were indeed fresh (as much as flash frozen can get).  Naturally, the salmon had a firmer texture than the tuna but was still buttery.  The toro was predictably the softest and fattiest while the albacore was meaty while soft.

We ended up with 2 rolls in the Dynamite and Spicy Salmon (also 2 pieces of Unagi Nigiri).  Of course they were made with brown rice which made them heartier, but not overly so.  As evidenced in the picture, they didn't shortchange us with the salmon, but it wasn't as spicy as we wanted it to be.  The dynamite roll was pretty typical but the avocado and cucumber was really fresh.

We added some lunch sets with the Sliced Beef Ribeye Bowl with spinach gomaae.  Again, the use of brown rice made this robust and filling despite the bowl's modest size.  The sliced beef was soft and tender while the teriyaki glaze was just sweet enough with some tanginess.  Really enjoyed the side of spinach gomaae as it was cooked just enough that it still had a crunch.  Sesame dressing was natural-tasting while not being overly sweet.

Last thing we got was the Shizenya Bean Curry with Chicken.  Due to all the beans, it ate like a curry chili.  Lots of texture and body while the curry was flavourful without being too sweet.  The addition of tender chicken breast made this fulfilling.  It was still moist despite being cooked through (as chicken should be!).  Overall, the food felt healthier and was quite satisfying.  Only thing is that the prices are on the higher side, but I guess you are paying for the ingredients.

The Good:

- Healthier alternative

- Fresh ingredients

- Quite tasty

The Bad:

- Pricier than other places

- Parking is not the best right now on Broadway

House of Chicken

So here we go back-to-back-to-back with fried chicken blog posts.  This is, in fact, the chronological order of when these visits happened.  Therefore, this wasn't the best week for my health, but it was quite the joy to devour though!  The trifecta of fried chicken ended up at House of Chicken along Scott Road in North Delta.  I've been here before and not only is the food delicious, it is affordable.   This would not be a small detail these days with severely high food prices.  We came back to try some more new items as well as getting a sneak peak of their $13.99 AYCE brunch (yes, really!).

One of the new items is their Fish & Chips that featured an enormous piece of fish that was literally the entire filet.  Essentially, it was half of a medium-sized fish!  This was coated in their crunchy, yet not heavy batter.  Inside of that, the fish was juicy and super flaky.  Would've enjoyed some basic tartar with it though, instead we got some type of tangy mayo.  The side of fries were the starch-covered variety and fried until super crispy, but not overly greasy.

Of course we couldn't ignore their awesome chicken sammies including the Nashville Hot Chicken and the Mega Crunch.  Served on a brioche bun, the Nashville featured a good-sized chicken breast that was moist while sporting their crunchy batter.  There was some mild spiciness from the mayo while tangy crunch from the pickles and coleslaw.  Featuring 2 large fried chicken thighs, the Mega Crunch could feed 2 people with smaller appetites.  Also juicy with more chicken flavour (due to the dark meat), the sandwich ate with plenty of texture.  We also tried the Karachi Bun Kebab with a ground beef mashed lentil patty, egg, onion and mint sauce.  To me, this ate like a breakfast sammie.  The patty had the unmistakable soft texture of cooked lentils.  The egg was fluffy and light. 

If the sammies were a big part of the menu, the Crispy Fried Chicken was mandatory.  We also had the Tandoori Chicken to compare.  We got both in regular and spicy (pictures here are of the spicy fried chicken and regular tandoori chicken).  As expected, the dark meat fried chicken was juicy while the batter was crunchy with rendered skin.  I found the spicy to be only mildly so in both the fried and tandoori chicken.  As for the tandoori, it was not as juicy as the fried chicken, but it did have fully rendered skin.

Being Indian-run, the restaurant also features a selection of Indian eats.  We ended up ordering the Fish Pakora featuring large nuggets of fish that were only lightly coated with batter.  Hence the texture of the flaky fish was more prominent.  With intermittent batter on the outside, there was a nice contrast of crispiness and soft fish.  It was nicely spice where we got the usual pakora flavours without it being too overwhelming.

Possibly our favourite dish of the meal had nothing to do with fried chicken.  It was actually the Goat Karahi.  This was a fairly large portion that was served with a side of Naan.  The pieces of goat were soft and tender with its unmistakable gelatinous quality.  The flavours were rich and full-of-depth from the garam masala that gave this comforting Fall-flavours.  The ginger also was quite apparent in this dish.

Our last Indian dish was the massive portion of Chicken Biryani.  This was also good with large chunks of chicken hidden within.  They were tender with a noted level of spice.  The basmati rice was nutty and chewy while still cooked through.  For $16.99, this was a considerable portion and combined with some curry and fried chicken, this could easily feed a family of 4 for under $50.00.

They also brought out selection of items for us to sample that are part of the Buffet Brunch for $13.99.  No that is not a typo...  All the Fried Chicken, Fries, Naan, Basmati Rice, Murgh Chanay, Beef Nihari, Chai and Gajar Halwa that you can eat for $13.99 on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00am to 3:00pm.  You already know that the chicken is good, but the curries are on point too.  I'm not surprised they are offering such an inexpensive brunch because their whole menu is a good value.  There is actually somewhere you can go dine-out and not break the bank.  Oh, and it helps the food is delicious and well-portioned too.

*This meal was complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Inexpensive

- Large portions

- Delicious

The Bad:

- Tandoori chicken could be juicier

Qube Lebanese Cuisine

To be completely blunt, I was torn as to if and how I would write this post about my visit to Qube Lebanese Cuisine. Would I be vague and not say what is truly on my mind or should I just let it all out?  After weeks of going back and forth, I've decided to report what I know, what I'm afraid of and how the meal went according to me (and not influenced by outside noise).  So what is this outside noise you speak of?  Well, originally, Qube had a very different menu and direction.  However, they change chefs and the menu was reworked.  There has been a bit of drama relating to this and I will not personally get into it because it doesn't involve me or do I really know the actual story.  All I can say is I will report what I ate and what I thought of it.  Am I a bit worried about any backlash?  Well of course.  However, I cannot judge that as I mentioned, I'm not involved.  Also, this is a warning to any trolls out there.  If you want to leave messages about this, I'm deleting them because I will not be part of the drama.  It is between you and the restaurant.  Period.

Okay getting back to my visit...  So if you recognize the storefront in the picture, you will know that Qube took over the old location of the original Trattoria on West 4th.  The decor inside is nice and it has a prominent bar.  As such, we tried some of their Drinks including QV, QII, QI and QIV.  I'm not going to get into all of them since I tried maybe 2, but l can say I loved the glasses and the presentation.  For the ones I did try, they were balanced and not too strong so that I could taste the rest of the components.

Onto the food, we were served a selection of appies including the Tuna Tartare with avocado puree, tuna, ponzu, shallots and chives.  This featured fresh albacore tuna that was buttery and soft.  It was dressed enough so that there was some salty tanginess from the ponzu.  I would've liked just a bit more acidity, but it was still fine as it was.  Avocado underneath was ripe and creamy providing a nice binding agent when mixed with the tuna.

We also had a duo of Hummus with the first being the classic version tahina and the second, being avocado hummus.  These were blended smooth where the tahini was noticeable in the classic version.  Good quality EVOO added some aroma and silkiness to the hummus.  The avocado was mild-tasting but rich.  To give both a bit of custom acidity, there was a half-lime on the plate.  This was served with house bread.

To keep the house bread from going too far with any dips, we had 2 more in the form of Moutabal and Labneh.  Much like the hummus, these two were on point in terms of texture and taste.  The moutabal consisted of roasted eggplant, garlic, tahini and lemon juice.  Hence, there was a bit of smokiness, plenty of tanginess and aroma.  It was smooth and creamy.  Thick and also creamy, the labneh featured strained yogurt, Himalayan salt and smoked olive oil.  As a result, there was also smokiness as well as a certain silkiness.

So we continued on with our appies with House Grape Leaves stuffed with rice, tomato, parsley and lime juice as well as Makdous featuring oil-aged eggplant filled with walnuts and red peppers atop labneh.  Being house-made, the stuffed grape leaves were bright and delicate.  Definitely enough acidity within the rice and tomato mixture.  That was even more pronounced with the tender eggplant.  They were very tangy with a bit of sweetness from the red peppers.

One of my favourite items was the Homemade Lebanese Sausages sauteed with onion, garlic, lemon, cherry tomatoes and pomegranate.  These were meaty with enough fat to create plenty of aromatics as well as keeping the sausage moist.  There was a good combination of tanginess and spice.  On the topic of tangy, the minted yogurt in the Shish Barak was plenty acidic (maybe a bit too sour).  Good thing too as it kept the heaviness of the dough in check.  It was filled with wagyu beef, onions and herbs.

We moved onto a pair of fish plates including the Salmon Lemoni and BC Halibut.  I found the salmon to be prepared properly being moist and flaky with crispy skin.  Like most of their other dishes, the acidity from the sauce was pronounced and it was further amped by the sundried tomatoes, artichokes and capers.  As for the halibut, it was buttery and soft where it was topped with a nutty tahini sauce and sat on a bed of roasted walnut and pepper emulsion.

The next dish featured Chops 2 Way with one each lamb chop and venison chop.  The larger venison chop was cooked nicely being medium inside, hence the meat was not dry.  However, the accompanying lamb chop was well-done.  At the very least, it was fattier and still ate tender.  The chimicuhurri was bright and helped lighten the heaviness of the meats.  I found this plate to be clunky in terms of plating though.

Our last 2 savoury items consisted of the Basterma Handheld and the Seared Lamb Belly.  Sporting Lebanese air-dried meat, house pickles, house mayo, tomato, Dijon and melted raclette on brioche, this was a tad hard to eat due to the chewiness of the meat.  However, it did taste good with the combination of ingredients as we got salty, tangy and nutty.  I really enjoyed the lamb belly as it was fatty and tender in only lamb can be.  It was seared well with a smoky caramelization.   Like most of the other dishes, the plating was a bit basic.

For dessert, we were served different forms of Baklava and house vanilla ice cream.  One of the few things not made in-house, the baklava was excellent.  The crispy layers of phyllo were light and blessed with enough sweetness that wasn't overwhelming.  Of course we also had the nuttiness of the pistachios.  Ice cream was quite good being creamy and purposefully sweet.  Overall, the food was not bad with some real highlights.  I do think the plating needs some work and possibly the portion sizes for the larger plates might need to be re-evaluated.

*This post features complimentary food and beverages*

The Good:
- Interesting food as Lebanese isn't too common in Vancouver
- Nice dining space
- Appealing cocktails

The Bad:
- Plating needs work
- Portion sizes for the larger dishes are inconsistent

Le Coq Frit

I'm sure you might be shocked that with my fried chicken sandwich obsession, I would've visited Le Coq Frit already.  Well, if you follow my IG account: @shermaneatschickensandwiches you will know that I haven't updated in awhile despite indulging in chicken sandwiches including Howlin' Rays in LA.  I guess I will have to update the account now since Le Coq Frit decided to have me in to try their chicken sandwich!

Now about that sandwich, we were served the Signature Spicy Chicken Burger with coleslaw, pickles and house sauce on brioche.  As you can see, this was an enormous chicken breast that we found was moist and coated with a light crunchy batter.  It was completely sauce where it was mildly spicy with balancing sweetness and some tang.  The coleslaw was crunchy and not very acidic, yet the pickles made up for that.  The use of brioche was a good choice as the bun conformed to the shape of the chicken breast and held things together.  Solid chicken sammie!

We can't forget the sides either as the burger comes with fries, but there are options for yam fries and in this case, Onion Rings.   I'm talking about these separately because they were really good.  The batter was fairly thin and was uniformly crunchy (and cooked through).  Inside, the onion was tender, yet not completely melted away.  Hence, we got the natural sweetness with a mild sharpness.  Didn't even need to dip it into sauce as it was good on its own.

Beyond this, the Chicken & Waffles was equally good.  This featured the Original Black Coq Frit dressed in honey garlic and soy sauce.  These large pieces of deep-fried chicken thighs were absolute money.  Juicy and tender, they were coated with a light batter than was crunchy and featured rendered skin.  The flavours were apparent and appealing with the sweetness of the honey balanced by the soy sauce.  Crispy garlic added crunch and aromatics.  The croffles on the side were crispy, flaky and light.  They were an excellent compliment to the chicken as they weren't heavy.

Our last item was the Chicken Salad with fried chicken tenders, mixed greens and house dressing. Nothing really complex about this one, but completely welcomed as we were able to get some greens.  Dressing was tangy and sweet while the chicken was tender with a crunchy batter.  Overall, I enjoyed the food at Le Coq Frit as their sammie was solid as well as their KFC.  Loved their croffle too.  Great place to grab some takeout if you were in the mood for fried chicken.

*All food and bevvies were complimentary for this post*

The Good:
- Properly fried chicken (crunchy while still tender inside)
- Competitive spicy fried chicken sammie
- Nice people

The Bad:
- Truly takeout, only a few counter seats  

Nene Chicken

Even since I first tried Nene Chicken, I've considered it one of the best places to grab some KFC (Korean Fried Chicken).  To prove my point, I've actually gotten takeout from them several times on my own coin!  With so many options for KFC, this is the first place I would go for it in the GVRD.  Now their Downtown location on Davie has added a few new items including Korean dishes to compliment their KFC and chicken burgers.  I was invited to try some of these just before heading to Le Coq Frit!  Double KFC day!

To get an overview of their KFC, we were served the Boneless Double Double Chicken featuring Swicy, CreamyOn, Soy Garlic and Snowing Cheese.  We added the fries on the side for good measure.  These big nuggets of leg meat were juicy and buttery while coated with a crispy batter.  My personal fav was the soy garlic with its sweet and sticky garlicky sauce.  Can't go wrong with the swicy as it had a kick and sweetness.  Totally covered in cheese powder, the snowing cheese was the crunchiest and plenty cheesy.  Finally, the creamyon was topped with onions and sweet mayo.  It was a combination of sharpness and creaminess.

One of their new items completely caught me by surprise.  The Magic Tofu Dice in soy garlic was so delicious!  It featured diced nuggets of medium-firm tofu that were coated and deep-fried.  Then they were sauced with soy garlic and topped with green onion.  Crispy and light, the tofu were great on their own, but the soy garlic added the tangy sweet and salty flavour that was addicting.  I would totally order these the next time I'm a Nene.

Onto some Korean dishes, we had the Rose Tteok Bok Ki that came as a pretty large portion.  It featured tender pieces of Korean rice cake that still had a bite, but were not that heavy.  They were sitting in a rose sauce that was plenty cheesy.  This would've been great on pasta, let alone rice cake.  But in reality, it ate like a Korean pasta due to the rice cake.  It was creamy with some spice and tang with the stringiness of the ample cheese.

Our last dish was the Nene Kimchi Hot Pot served with Korean black rice (but is really purple when cooked).  This was tangy and spicy with background sweetness.  We spooned the broth onto the rice and it soaked up all the goodness.  Due to the robust texture of the rice, it stood up to the moisture.  Furthermore, the little nuggets of pork really added depth and texture to the dish.  As expected, the KFC at Nene was excellent, but the Korean dishes were definitely a surprise.  Loved them all and was not expecting such items on the menu.  Completely changes the experience at Nene with more options other than chicken.

*This visit was complimentary*

The Good:

- Juicy pieces of KFC with equally tasty flavours

- Didn't eat the burgers this time, but they are good too!

- Surprising new Korean dishes

The Bad:

- As with anything these days, prices can get up there